Rate the Last Movie You Saw

[subie09lega]

It's a good Star Wars film. It's just not a great one. It has the look, feel and energy of the first trilogy. But it relies too heavily on story elements in the first film. And the original cast didn't have to be there, Abrams was just scoring fan boy points. Every time Abrams gets his hands on an established series (Star Trek, now Star Wars), he relies too heavily on what has come before. When he comes up with an original story (Super 8), it turns out fair to middling. I find his production credits (Joy Ride, Cloverfield, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol) more impressive than his directing credits (Star Trek, ST: Into Darkness, Super 8). I get the feeling that he feels if he were born 30 years earlier that HE would have created Star Wars. Maybe, but I don't think he has the imagination to pull it off as successfully. He's even set up story points that mirror the first trilogy:

But let me reiterate. THIS IS A GOOD MOVIE. The Force has awakened and Star Wars has been revitalized after the wimpy prequel trilogy.

Go see it. It needs to be seen in the theater. And see it in 3D. There are a couple of scenes that make that extra outlay worth it.

I just got back from watching it and I agree with your thoughts about it, however I did like how they tied in the original cast to link them together. Overall, I did like it and I would go again....and it didn't feel like I was watching a Star Wars/Trek mashup for which I'm grateful.

Spoiler!

Here's my warning if you haven't seen it....

Spoiler!

I didn't like how he took his mask off to reveal.....that he doesn't really need the mask like Vader did and he reminds me of a young Severus Snape which was distracting for me. I feel that removing the mask so early on kills some of the mystery behind the character and storyline.

[srboone]

Ha! I thought of Snape, too! The mask made me think of Dark Helmet from Spaceballs. I wanted it to flip up. (There times when I was laughing at the wrong parts of the movie, I admit it.)

[subie09lega]

Ha! I thought of Snape, too! The mask made me think of Dark Helmet from Spaceballs. I wanted it to flip up. (There times when I was laughing at the wrong parts of the movie, I admit it.)

So true! I CAN'T BREATHE IN THIS THING!!!

[Joe315]

I just got back from watching it and I agree with your thoughts about it, however I did like how they tied in the original cast to link them together. Overall, I did like it and I would go again....and it didn't feel like I was watching a Star Wars/Trek mashup for which I'm grateful.

Spoiler!

Here's my warning if you haven't seen it....

Spoiler!

I didn't like how he took his mask off to reveal.....that he doesn't really need the mask like Vader did and he reminds me of a young Severus Snape which was distracting for me. I feel that removing the mask so early on kills some of the mystery behind the character and storyline.

Spoiler!

I think that is the point though, regarding the mask. He is trying to emulate Vader so wears a mask. He also is trying to separate himself from his family and may wear the mask to become more anonymous. Snoke may also be incouraging the helmet to further his disassociation with his identity.

[subie09lega]

I think that is the point though,

Yeah,

Spoiler!

I've mulled over the reasons for wearing the mask and I've come to the same conclusions but it was very anticlimactic for me when he removed it. I guess I expected a physical reason but the nonphysical are just as valid, and probably more so in this case. But I also think I would have preferred it had he remained anonymous, at least behind the mask, for a longer period of the ?trilogy or more? Of course, the reveal was necessary for one particular scene of the movie but that could have been delayed, unless that one particular character didn't want to continue to be included so they had to shoehorn it in.

[Dan Hocker]

Tons of spoiler talk thins weekend. Which is great. I've seen the movie twice now.

Spoiler!

Warning!!!

Spoiler!

Ok some plot points that where mentioned. I don't think Rey and Kylo (Ben) are twins. I actually think Rey is either a nobody or she's Luke's daughter. Personally I really want her to be a nobody. They did say that this like the previous ones is about the Skywalker family, but I'm thinking it's more going to be about the redemption of Kylo Ren.

As far as the Snoke stuff goes I think Kylo was the rouge disciple that killed the rest of the soon to be Jedi. I think we get glimpses of that in Rey's vision. The ongoing rumor is that Snoke is actually Darth Plaguis, Palpatine's former master. His appearance leads me to believe that it's possible, though I'm not sure we'll ever know for sure.

As far as Kylo's mask, I think it's as much an intimidation thing as it is him wanting to emulate Vadar. You can see he's clearly unnerved when he's talking to Snoke without it and Hux walks in. I think the reveal wasn't really that impactful, because we knew who was playing him and we had already seen pictures of him without his helmet.

On a side note I for once can't wait for the novelization, as they've said that for once they movie novelizations are cannon, and I'm really interested to see what more they add to the story.

[Joe315]

Spoiler!

I agree. Rey is either Luke's daughter or a nobody. I think the characters are too close in age to be twins that have been separated. Plus, there would be no reason to do so because I can't imagine Han and Leia sending a young child away. I feel like Kylo was at a minimum, 11-12 when he was sent away, but most likely 14-15. I realise that that would make him to old to train but I can't see him having that kind of anger if he was being trained from a really young age. I'm guessing he went rogue a few years later and then was contacted by Snoke.

As for Snoke, I'm not sure who he is either. I am leaning toward Plagius but Palapatine implied that he killed him. And I would think that if Plagius is as strong a Sith master as Palpatine claimed him to be, I imagine Palpatine would have felt his presence.

I am excited for the rest of the movies and can't wait to see what they do.

[Plasticine]

The Force Awakens spoilers

Spoiler!

Kylo Ren was Luke's student that killed his fellow classmates. I'm pretty sure you get a glimpse of the aftermath of the massacre during the flashback Rey experiences when she finds Luke's sabre. Kylo and the rest of the Knights of Ren are standing over a bunch of bodies. I think Kylo was sent away young by his parents, rejected Luke's teachings and in his anger found Snoke. A couple of years later, he returns from an immersion in Dark Side history and lore, intent on killing the Jedi before they can be reborn.

Rey is either Luke's daughter or a young padwan that survived the massacre, and is too traumatized to remember what happened. Either way, Luke likely hid her away on that desert planet so she could avoid Snoke and Kylo. He probably hoped she'd never even discover her powers, since he apparently regrets trying to recreate the Jedi.

[subie09lega]

Well, apparently I need to go back and watch it again so I can glean more from it than I did the first time.

[srboone]

Once was enough for me. There's too many others out there I want to see.

Spoiler!

I took the vision that Rey had as Luke putting part of the map into R2D2 (which made me think that Luke had been contemplating his move for a long time). But it makes sense that Rey would be Luke's daughter and the Kylo Ren would be the studentl who killed Luke's Jedi trainees ("Who was a pupil of mine until he turned to evil"--again with the "New Hope" flashbacks). There's a lot I don't know about the Star Wars Universe (Darth Plaguis? Darth Bush?? Darth Obama???) since I don't read the books or comics and don't haunt SW websites.

[Joe315]

Spoiler!

I don't recall if Plaguis is named but he is mentioned in Episode 3 I believe, by Palpatine. I think, he is the Sith that was able to save his loved ones from death using the force and was trying himself to live forever.

[Dan Hocker]

Spoiler!

I actually hadn't heard of Plaguis until recently, though we all heard of him in Episode 3 when Palpatine told Anakin "The Tale of Darth Plaguis" and how he had discovered the secret behind immortality. The little I do know about Plaguis is from a series of podcasts I've been listening to. I don't think the Plaguis book is cannon anymore, but Plaguis himself is. I really should read it though, I've heard it's really good. I can't really remember the reasoning why people think Snoke is him though.

[Tommy]

RiffTrax Live!: Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny: The last live event of RT's 2015 "The Crappening" schedule. A truly horrid movie about Santa Claus stranded on a beach in Florida being helped by a group of kids from a nearby amusement park. Three short films prelude the main attraction, each more awful than the last. But the riffing was screamingly funny (making me less fearful of the Ice Cream Bunny's eventual entrance bouncing on the side of a fire truck--it's something that's once seen can't be unseen, no matter how much you want to) and the evening was a well-spent two hours. Definitely worth the pricey ticket.

Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny: 0/5

RiffTrax Live!: Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny: 5/5


As always, I learned a few things while there:

1) Refusing to debate the merits of Die Hard with someone who thinks is the best movie ever made will cause their face to melt like Toht in Raiders of the Lost Ark. (That's useful information!)

2) People kiss under mistletoe because Miss L. Toe likes to watch. (heh..heh, heh...heh...)

3) Bananas bought at Black Friday sales make bad stocking stuffers. (Now they tell me!)

--BUT--

If you watch all 24 hours of "24 Hours of A Christmas Story" on TBS, you will NOT see a version of the movie in which Ralphie say's the F-word. I know this from experience having watched the whole cycle before. Twice.

I loved this Rifftrax! My favorite one so far and also the most fun I had at a movie all this year.

[srboone]

Every year since 1983, I've treated myself to a birthday movie. In 1983, it was Never Say Never Again--Sean Connery's attempt at a James Bond comeback (I'd never seen an SC JB movie--my first JB movie was Octopussy earlier that year). This year it was

Krampus: I liked this one. It had a gleefully dark sense of humor

Spoiler!

I particularly liked the scene in which the evil elves when fishing for the stupid fat kid by lowering a hook on a chain baited with a giant gingerbread cookie down the chimney.

and some genuinely suspenseful moments to counter the Christmas horror clichés and the "Don't go outside! Are you stupid?" moments. Along with the "you exceeded your ammo count long ago" feeling. The song "The Krampus Carol of the Bells" played over the end credits was also a delight. But what made it all worthwhile was the father who had taken his two daughters (the oldest couldn't have been more than 13) to the movie who told him after the credits that they weren't going to forgive him for dragging them to the movie--he ruined Christmas for them. He seemed pretty flustered, so (of course) I spoke up: "Oh you will; it may just take a while. And in 30 years, you'll enjoy taking your kids to a Christmas horror movie because you have fond memories of Krampus, just like your father has fond memories of Gremlins." The father whispered "Thank you" to me as they left the theater.

3.5/5

[srboone]

The Hateful 8: Tarantino's second Western, this film isn't as provocative or violent as Django Unchained, but it is vastly superior in terms of Tarantino's growth as a director. In the post-civil war era, a bounty hunter transporting a female prisoner to Red Rock, WY where she will be hanged for her crimes meets up with an ex-slave bounty hunter and the new sheriff of Red Rock along the way. They are forced to take shelter from a blizzard in Monnie's Haberdashery, where four other stangers are currently quartered and the owner is mysteriously absent. Pay close attention to the title of this movie. This movie is grim and nihilistic. None of these characters are particularly likeable; they all are ruled by hate of some sort and there is no real moral compass present in the movie (and given the type and amount of vulgarity in the movie, this will be a big problem for a lot of people). There will be vile things said and done, without remorse of any sort. If you've ever wondered what a movie written and co-directed by of Sam Peckinpah, John Ford, John Carpenter and....Agatha Christie might look like, it would probably be this film. The cinematography is stunning, the orginal score by Ennio Moiccone is simply perfect and Tarantino's new movie is a near-perfect example of movie-making as a technical craft: muscular, confident, and bloody (literally) exhilerating. The story itself is slow to start (when has Tarantino ever been in a hurry), but is peppered with the delicious dialogue and uniformly outstanding performances that distinguish a Tarantino film. When the action moves inside, the mystery deepens until it explodes into it's stunning and brilliant finale (or "Last Chapter"). Some people will find the 3-hour run-time trying (especially for a movie that is 90% dialog and 10% action), but I was awestruck the whole way. Discussions over why each character is as hateful as he/she is are sure to be had, and the answers will probably each highlight a particular societal ill. If that's the case and the eight represent a "melting pot" and the Haberdashery represents a "country"... No answers are given, but if no solutions are sought, the outcome could be...frightening to say the least.


Any one of the perfomances could be nominated for an Oscar. But Jennifer Jason Leigh as the sociopatic prisoner Daisy Domergue is simply great. One of the best films of 2015.

5/5